EVENTS
Sportsman of the Year
Heisman Trophy
Swimsuit 2001
CENTERS
Fantasy Central
Inside Game
Video Plus
Statitudes
Your Turn
Message Boards
Email Newsletters
Golf Guide
Cities
CNNSI.com GROUP
Sports Illustrated
Life of Reilly
SI Women
SI for Kids
Press Room
TBS/TNT Sports
CNN Languages
COMMERCE
SI Customer Service
SI Media Kits
Get into College
Sports Memorabilia
TeamStore
|  |
Lasting impressions
Musings, memories from an epic Stanley Cup finals
Posted: Sunday June 10, 2001 9:22 PM
It seems a long, long time ago, and it was, that we were writing Sports Illustrated's NHL preview issue and forecasting that Raymond Bourque and the Avalanche would skate off with the Stanley Cup. We might say we told you so, though we'd have to admit to many moments of lost faith.
As the playoffs rumbled along the Avalanche looked increasingly vulnerable. They needed seven games to bounce the unheralded Kings in the second round; Bourque went eight games without a point; Peter Forsberg went under the knife, and the Avalanche relied more and more on the heroics of goaltender Patrick Roy to bail them out of tough times.
Come the finals, the Devils -- the smothering oft-relentless Devils -- were the team to beat. The Avalanche did beat them and in doing so left us with the lasting impression that great plays by your greatest stars -- in this case, Roy snatching pucks out of the air or kicking them away, and center Joe Sakic winning faceoffs and whipping pucks on and into the net from every angle -- can win a final series.
This finals also left other impressions, and inspired many other thoughts. To wit:
That Sakic -- who in Game 7 roofed an astonishingly well-placed wrist shot
past Martin Brodeur for his league-best 13th goal and 26th point of the postseason -- will have more suitors than Cinderella's prince when he hits the free-agent market next month. He'll wind up prince-rich, too.
That another prospective free agent, Devils defenseman Sean O'Donnell, picked a lousy time to expose himself in public. When Chris Drury undressed him with a dipsy-doodle move in Game 4, would-be O'Donnell bidders cringed.
They cringed some more when New Jersey head coach Larry Robinson benched O'Donnell in the next two games. And when Robinson put him back in the lineup for Game 7, O'Donnell showed his slip one more time, when he stupidly punched Shjon Podein in the mouth away from the play, drawing a penalty that set up a power play goal for the Avs.
That another Devils defenseman, rookie Colin White, has some growing up to do.
That however many accolades we've given Roy over the years, they're not enough.
That no team in the league, or in recent memory, plays with the shorthanded energy that the Devils play with. In this series they created scoring opportunities every time, every single time, they were a man down.
That Adam Foote has better offensive skills -- decent skating ability and a deceptively heavy shot -- than people realize. If Bourque and Rob Blake weren't around (and next year at least one of them probably won't be) to absorb so much power-play time, Foote would score a lot more than he does.
That the memory of Foote and Jason Arnott trading checks against the end boards early in Game 6 was a great relief. The sight of Arnott collapsing on the Devils bench moments after taking a puck to the temple in Game 4 was the most disturbing of the finals.
That the Stadium operations folks in New Jersey have to do better than dust off their old copy of Blizzard of Oz and play us Crazy Train 15 times a game. Spring for a DJ, Lou.
That eight out of eight hockey fans surveyed have no idea where Cotton-Eyed Joe came from nor where he went.
That Drury can play on my team anytime, on any pond.
So can Jay Pandolfo.
That Bob Hartley is a damn good hockey coach, a keeper in this league for
years to come.
That the Avalanche don't come close to winning this thing without Blake playing minute after excellent minute, game after game. He's another prospective free agent who'll be stuffing his sock drawer with wads of high notes a month or so from now.
That except for when he's cussing zebras, Scott Gomez may never stop smiling. We call him Go-Go, because it suits him.
That perhaps, sadly, we saw the end of 37-year-old Dave Reid 's career. He
played this series with a titanium plate in his recently busted jaw. A gamer, a gentleman, and a vital part of Cup-winning and Cup-challenging
teams for the past four seasons.
That when they are behind their masks, Brodeur and Roy are, like, eerie similar. Down to their twitches, even.
That the scene of Bourque grasping the Stanley Cup, and kissing it, and then skating about with his eyes moist and the Cup thrust arms-length high, and then, finally, seeing Sakic and shouting, "Joe, Joe Take the f----ing
thing!" was everything we wanted it to be and more.
|
Copyright © 2001
CNN/Sports Illustrated
An AOL Time Warner Company.
All Rights Reserved.
|
Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.
|
|
